


The Inevitable

by ElentariR



Series: Getting Back to Myself [17]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Chinese Food, F/M, First Fight, Realism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 19:23:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15780489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElentariR/pseuds/ElentariR
Summary: Shooting bad guys was really so much easier than dealing with feelings.





	The Inevitable

**Author's Note:**

> Is there a word for angry fluff that isn't really angry? Who knows? Not me.
> 
> Anyway, let's face it. Couples fight, usually over stupid stuff that seems perfectly legitimate at the time.

Bucky had known it was coming. He would have been a fool to think it wasn’t. And Bucky _wasn’t_ a fool. But _knowing_ it was going to happen eventually and actually _experiencing_ it were two very different things.

And Bucky found he wasn’t prepared for their first fight.

He’d had a long weekend, staking out and ultimately eliminating a HYDRA facility, but they lost a team member during extraction. It still seemed like too high a price.

Bucky collapsed exhausted onto the sofa when he finally returned to Stark Tower. It was late and all the lights were off and Bucky liked it that way. Doubtless Steven was already asleep and Noelle was probably just starting to doze herself. Bucky sighed. He had hoped to see them – to stupidly reassure himself that _they_ were fine.

Hunger rumbled in his stomach and Bucky mustered just enough energy to stumble to the fridge and blearily pull out whatever leftovers his fingers landed on first. Orange chicken, judging by the smell of it. He didn’t bother to reheat it. That would take too much effort.

Down the hall, a door opened and shut. Feet were shuffling his way. Hope lifted Bucky’s shoulders. Noelle slowly rounded the corner, t-shirt rumpled and hair in shambles, and was that paint on her cheek? And he didn’t remember that hole being in her shirt. The weary, but happy, smile that tugged her lips upward froze when her eyes settled on the container in Bucky’s hands.

“Is that my orange chicken?”

Bucky blinked and looked down into the empty container. “I don’t know.”

Noelle’s nostrils flared and her whole body tensed. Even in the dark, Bucky could feel her eyes flashing at him. Noelle had slowly looked at the empty take-out box and then back to Bucky. She hadn’t uttered a word, but her eyes communicated more ire than her tongue ever could.

“You ate my orange chicken.”

Bucky sometimes struggled to understand the nuances of female communication. But at that moment, what Noelle was _not_ saying was crystal clear. That was her food, _she_ wanted it, and she was decidedly _not_ happy that _he_ ate _her_ food. Her clenched fists indicated murder plots forming in her head.

And then Bucky said what he instantly knew was the worst thing to say: “But it wasn’t labeled.”

“It was _my food_! Who else leaves leftovers in the fridge? I shouldn’t have to label my food!” Irritation made her voice rise higher, but he could tell she was trying her hardest to keep her voice low and calm. It was late, after all, and Steven was asleep.

Bucky’s eyes widened. “I was hungry! I just got home!”

“So you had to pick my food? There’s like five other meal options in there. I have been looking forward to eating that _all day_. I _just_ got Steven to sleep. This is the first chance _all day_ that I have had to eat and you _ate my favorite leftover Chinese food_.”

Bucky’s mouth fell open. “I’ve been gone all weekend! I haven’t even showered. How the hell am I supposed to know the intimate details of the fridge contents?”

Noelle’s eyes became slits of angry light. “Common sense, Bucky.”

Bucky spluttered. “Common sense? You need to get out a dictionary, because your food cravings are not common sense. That is _not_ what common sense is!”

Noelle crossed her arms tightly across her chest and she exhaled long and slow. She spun on her heel and began rummaging through cabinets and doors, her body taut with anger. Bucky recoiled as if he was slapped. “I’ll just eat cereal. It’s fine.”

It wasn’t fine, and Bucky knew it, but he still heard himself say, “Don’t forget about the _five other meal options_.”

Noelle’s hands stilled and she slowly turned around to face him. Her face was blank, but her eyes still spoke volumes. She left without a word, empty-handed.

Bucky sat in astonished silence. His head reeled. Somehow that had gone horribly, horribly wrong. He just didn’t know what he should have done instead. He opened his mouth to apologize only to remember that Noelle had already left. He closed his mouth with a sigh and ran a hand wearily through his hair. His anger and indignation bled away quickly.

Bucky moaned.

Shooting bad guys was really so much easier than dealing with feelings.

 

0

 

When Noelle emerged from her bedroom the next morning, it was quietly and with a face washed with guilt. Bucky had fallen asleep on the couch, but woke up when he heard her door open. He lowered his eyes and looked away. He heard her sigh softly.

“I think I owe you an apology,” Noelle murmured. “A really, really big one.” She cautiously lowered herself into the chair opposite him. She couldn’t meet his eyes. “I was unfair to you last night. I’d had a hellish day and I lashed out at you and it wasn’t right. You didn’t really do anything wrong and goodness knows your whole weekend was worse than mine. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like I did and I am truly sorry. Can you forgive me?” She tentatively lifted her face. Her eyes pleaded with them.

Bucky’s heart melted. “I already did.”

Noelle’s smile spoke volumes. She launched herself into his arms and held him tightly.

And when Noelle opened the fridge to make breakfast for her family, she found a carefully labeled box of Chinese food that said simply: “Noelle’s – protected by Bucky.”


End file.
